17 is flat out wrong, someone pulled a number out of their butt. Rick Lossi has a better idea of the real number but it's closer to 4 than to 17. For sure there is no national organization in the USA which keeps track of these numbers, people here in kiteforum have a better idea of actual fatalities.

I bet the kiting liaison was not the guy that wrote the letter!Also it seems likely the 17 number if not pulled out of thin air is an aggregate number representing more than any one sport (ie maybe all surf sport and small boat fatalities?)

This is a groundhog day type thing, seems like these guys put out some ominous statement on safety every so often, linked to official or official sounding documents. Definitely well-intentioned and with good advice.

But 17? I hope not!!

FWIW find the USCG letter, no mention of fatality number I could see, here, posted by same scribd user:

These numbers are taken off Wikipedia and sound a lot more sensible than the 17 killed in 2012 in the US alone. However....if kite-skiing is also part of 'kiteboarding' I have no problem believing the number....that S$%T is insane======================================Accidents can generate serious injuries or even be deadly. 105 accidents were reported in the Kiteboarding Safety Information Database between 2000 and September 2003, with 14 fatalities.[39] In South Africa between October 2003 and April 2004, 83% of search & rescue missions involving kitesurf were in offshore winds with the kite still attached to the harness, uncontrolled in strong winds or impossible to relaunch in weak winds. On 30 missions, there was no fatalities but five injuries : two had bone fractures after being hit by their boards, two others were suffering from critical hypothermia and exhaustion and the fifth was exhausted and lacerated.[40]Advances in hybrid and bow kite designs leads to a better ability to control the power that they provide and effective safety release systems. [41] In USA around 2003, the fatality rate with 6 to 12 for 100'000 participants was higher than 4 to 5 in SCUBA diving (and much higher than the two Walkers), comparable to the 15 in Motor Vehicle Traffic, and much lower than all accidents with 56 or the 88 Paragliders.[42] Accidents are still happening; as of November 2012, 126 kite surfers have been killed in the last 10 years.[citation needed]

This one is believable but if you make stuff up one place why not make it up another? I actually dont believe a single thing in that article. There is probably some political point to be made by scaring people about how dangerous kiters are to themselves and others.

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